Jess's Take: The Year of the Dead Show Walking

Hey folks, it's Jessica. Welcome to a new series of posts titled "Jess's Take on TV". In each installment, I will be give my take on the season so far, along with some blurbs about television shows. Let's get started, shall we?

Dead Show Walking? Walking Dead? The Year When TV Flops Go On Episode Diets

Four shows fell victim to the episode order cut: and they are Minority Report, The Player, Blood & Oil, and Truth Be Told. Episode orders were reduced to 10, 9, 10, and 10 episodes respectively.

Due to low ratings, the networks have essentially canceled these four shows by reducing their episode orders. Let's highlight each flop:

Minority Report: Got considerable FOX promotion hype in the commercials yet premiered to a dismal 1.1 A18-49 rating for the premiere. Ratings got even worse in week 2. No doubt that the network has lost a lot of money in promotion. As a result, it becomes the first show effectively (but not officially!) canceled.

Blood & Oil: Premiered at a 1.4 A18-49 rating, and kept bleeding out in the ratings. Episode order cut to 10 episodes. I guess people thought that it was a rip off to Dallas.

Truth Be Told: Tied for lowest scripted comedy debut on the Big 4, despite airing on a Friday night. Predicted flop from the start. No surprise about its episode diet.

Despite the Dead Show Walking, Wicked City became the first show pulled from the schedule this season after pulling a horrendous 0.4 A18-49 rating, which is typically what CW shows The Originals and Jane the Virgin get on average. I have news for you, a 0.4 is only acceptable for a reality show on the CW. Not on the Big 4.

Partial Backorders, Any Exceptions?

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, iZombie, Supergirl, Quantico, and The Muppets have all received partial backorders for additional episodes.

Supergirl: 7 more episodes = 20 episodes

iZombie: 6 more episodes = 19 episodes

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: 5 more episodes = 18 episodes

The Muppets: 3 more episodes = 16 episodes

Quantico: 6 more episodes = 19 episodes

Clearly there is a rule that any show with an initial episode order of 13 episodes, but getting less than the typical back 9 will be canceled.

But there are exceptions.

The Muppets and Quantico are designated as "limited series". If the ratings are good enough, they will be back next season.

The toss up: Supergirl premiered late in the fall season and got 7 episodes. Ratings have fallen to nearly half of its A18-49 rating. I see this being another Stalker situation.

And Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, even CBS affirmative action cannot save you from the chopping block with those atrociously low ratings.

As for iZombie, it just became certain to be on the chopping block because it happens to be produced by Warner Bros. In honor of the cursed CBS affirmative action, let's break out the tissues!

Update: TV Series Finale posted that Quantico got even more episodes, enough for a full season of 22 episodes. Not a limited series after all.

Bones: Is It Time To Say Goodbye?

Per Deadline, the lead stars and executive producer of the FOX show Bones have filed a lawsuit against the network for unpaid royalties. This is the second Bones related lawsuit against FOX within days.

With news of the two lawsuits, it's no wonder that Bones has been benched. The grim reaper already has moved it down to 'likely to be canceled', despite our prediction of likely renewal. It's all because of these scuffles.

Question: Do you think Gorman aka The Reaper fka The Cancel Bear made the right call on Bones regarding the situation, or is this just a knee-jerk reaction? Let me know in the comments below!